Quiet Aide to Liu Helped Build a Donor Base Now Under Scrutiny

She is an almost invisible figure in New York politics, a former insurance agent and single mother who unwinds at karaoke bars in Queens singing Taiwanese pop ballads in a gentle soprano voice. But Mei-Hua Ru quietly wields considerable power in the city, having guided Comptroller John C. Liu’s rise from an obscure councilmember 10 years ago to a major political force today. Read More: New York Times

Little Bay Park project stall is little ‘comfort’

Bayside elected officials and community leaders are campaigning for relief for visitors of Little Bay Park and hoping that millions of dollars in funding hasn’t been flushed by the Department of Parks and Recreation. Senator Tony Avella united with Warren Schreiber, president of the Bay Terrace Community Alliance, and residents of the Bayside community on November 29 to urge the Parks Department to begin the revitalization project of Little Bay Park – which includes the construction of a comfort station. Read More: Queens Courier

Recalling Days on the Run With Abducted Children

The week before they abducted their eight children from a foster carecenter in Queens, Nephra and Shanel Payne stocked up at Costco on supplies and dry goods, like graham crackers, diapers and infant formula for Nefertiti, their 11-month-old daughter. They stashed family photos and important documents in a storage facility and crammed a basketball and a football — essential for traveling with a Little League team’s worth of boys — into their car. Read More: New York Times

New York Mafia and Russian mob joined to lure women as strippers; arranged sham marriages

The Mafia teamed up with the Russian mob to smuggle Eastern European beauties into New York to work as strippers — and even arranged sham marriages to keep them here, the feds say. Twenty suspects, including seven reputed Gambino and Bonanno mobsters, were arraigned in Manhattan Federal Court on Wednesday on charges ranging from racketeering to visa fraud. Read More: Daily News

Surveillance Video Released In Search For Queens Assault Suspect

Police are asking for help in finding a man wanted in connection with an assault in Queens. Officials say the suspect hit a 33-year-old man outside of the Nest Bar and Restaurant in South Richmond Hill shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday. The victim was treated for his injuries at Jamaica Hospital. Police say the suspect fled the scene. He is said to be about 5-feet 5-inches tall. Read More & Watch the Video: NY1

William Bell is hoping Detective Gescard Isnora will be removed from the police force after being found guilty of violating New York City Police Department rules in a departmental trial following the deadly shooting of his son Sean five years ago. That decision is being left up to Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, but those close to the investigation say the NYPD trials commissioner recommends dismissal. Read More: NY1

Highschool ‘sext’ boot OK’d

A Queens judge has thrown out a lawsuit brought by the parents of an ex-student at Christ the King High School who was booted for allegedly showing naked pics of an ex-girlfriend on his phone. Joseph Farley was thrown out of the Catholic school this year after being ordered by Assistant Principal Carol Timpone to turn over his cell phone after the girl’s mother complained, according to the suit. After Farley refused, he was expelled. Read More: New York Post